You don't need to hide it. Tony Stark he has left a void in your life and there is no Spider-Man, Hawkeye or Doctor Strange to fill it. And it is that the film adaptation of Iron Man It has been a complete success, both for the quality of the productions and for the performance of Robert Downey Jr., who brings the character to life as if he had been waiting for that role throughout his career. The best thing you can do in your case is to give a chance at comics. And that's when the question will arise: Where do I start? That is the question that we are going to solve for you in today's post.
First of all, you have to know that you can practically read any comic with the marvel subscriptions, so you won't necessarily have to search like crazy for old and second-hand editions of the comics that we are going to talk about next. With having a computer with a decent screen or a tablet, you can enjoy these adventures of Iron Man.
The best order to read the Iron Man comics
This would be the best order to start with the comics of the mythical Marvel character.
Start with the origins
Iron Man's first appearance in comics occurred in the year 1963 in the Tales of Suspense #39. And while it may seem predictable and very bland, the best thing you can do with Iron Man is to start at the beginning. Although you will notice some differences with respect to its film adaptation, the truth is that this number explains very well how Tony Stark ends up, an individual from high society, kidnapped by the terrorist Wong Chu, with shrapnel a few centimeters from his heart and with time against the clock both to save his life and to free himself from captivity, creating the first Iron Man or Mark 1, cheap, but enough to destroy Wong-Chu's plans, although it meant the sacrifice of poor Ho Yinsen.
First solo appearance
Also in 1963 the first issue of Avengers, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but if what you are really interested in is reading Iron Man, the second recommended reading is Iron Man # 1 (Archie Goodwin and Gene Colan), from 1968, which is the first time that we can enjoy the adventures of the tycoon without distractions. Here we already see him with much more recognizable clothing. In this number he faces several iron men replicated from your own corporation's technology.
Demon in a Bottle
Once you start reading Iron Man comics, you can end where you want, but Daemon in a Bottle is a series with a Stark's very dark story arc, dealing with the topic of alcoholism. It begins when Stark accidentally kills a diplomat due to an oversight in his armor. Public opinion does its thing, and Tony is defeated, and ends up resorting to drink to isolate himself from the real world. This story is told in several issues, in Iron Man #120 to #128 and they were behind these numbers David Michelinie and Bob Layton mainly.
Extremis Arc
In 2004, Iron Man experienced a reboot, where the development of the character is more similar to what we have seen in the cinema. Extremis Arc is composed in six parts, starting by The Invincible Iron Man #1 (2004)
Civil War
En seven numbers tells the story of Civil War, from 2006, created by Mark Millar and Steve Mcniven. They tell us about the confrontation between the supporters of the Superhuman Registration Act and those against it, where Iron Man is located.
Other notable readings
There are quite a few reboots that have been released after the Success of Iron Man y The Avengers in theaters. Here are some of the most important recent issues you can read:
- Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.— Invincible Iron Man # 1 (2008)
- Iron Man # 1 (2012)
- Avengers # 1 (2012)
- Invincible Iron Man # 1 (2015)
- Avengers # 1 (2018)
- Tony Stark: Iron Man # 1 (2018)
And up to here our compilation with the most outstanding installments if you want to start reading the stories on paper of the marvelite character. Do you miss any number or would you suggest another order?